Buying a 987 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

I am considering buying a 2005 boxster with 5 speed that was built on 2/2005. The car is well serviced and looks and drives great. I am concern about the engine failure that I read on forums. I currently own a 76 carrera 3.0 and have owned seven 911s of which only one was water cooled(2000 996). Please help me with what to worry about and is there any upgrades that make this car a better looking and better acceleration. Should I worry about the engine failures that I read about. What size wheels can I go with to upgrades.it currently have 17s.

Welcome to the forum. Porsche is kind of murky with their info. With a 2/05 build date, it should have the IMS that can be replaced. If not, it will have the larger IMS which has a 1% chance of breaking but cannot easily be replaced. If you already own (or owned) a 2000 996, why are you worried about buying another Porsche that could have the same problem? Your 996 also has an IMS. The smaller, replaceable IMS fails at approx a 10% rate and costs approx $2K to replace (clutch incl). If you are worried about acceleration in the 987, why are you looking at a base model? The S will have more HP and better acceleration. If the base or S 987 do not meet your needs, don't buy them. You'll have to spend LOTS of $$$ to increase the HP by significant amts. You're better off spending the extra money to buy a 997 instead. Boxsters and Caymans are not about HP, they're about handling. Factory wheels available on the 987 were 17, 18, and 19. Not sure if you could get 19s on a base but they were avail on the S. I would recommend you do a LOT more research before you buy this car. It doesn't sound like it meets your needs and you may be making a mistake in buying it. Quick, impulsive decisions can come back to bite you in the arse.

Agreed. If you're already talking about "needing" more acceleration and consider the car unattractive before you've even bought it then you are looking at the wrong car. Doesn't sound like you need any help finding things to worry about.

I do like the car but I am just making sure it is a good reliable car. The hp increase will be nice.i am more used to changing chips on my older 911 and exhaust and cat by-pass and different exhaust which made big difference. I was not looking at another Porsche but this is a good local car and looks great,handle amazing and it's a good price.

I currently own 2 987S.1s and also owned a third. All three have been very reliable cars. I've driven all 3 a collective 90K mi. I'm guessing a chip will be in the neighborhood of $1K and might give you 20hp. An exhaust will run close to $2K new and give you maybe 10hp. We're talking small gains. If there were simple, inexpensive solutions, we'd all do them. You can easily spend $5K on the basic upgrades and get a total of 40 extra hp. That's not a great bang for your buck. You don't start gaining significant amts until you drop $10K+ on punching out the displacement and using hp components. Why spend $10-20K on an upgraded motor in a car that's worth $12-15? There are other, more rational solutions available for $30K. You could find a 987S.2 for that kind of money and have 325hp vs the 240 of that base.

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If it ain't broke, don't fix it! The Boxster is a beautiful car as it is. Certainly sounds like you need to do WAY more research (use the search function). Or, might I suggest a Mustang? There's a rumour going round they are much better than the Boxster......

You asked about upgrades available to the current 17's on the car you are considering.IMO,the 17 inch wheels are just about the perfect size. I bought my car used and it has the optional 18's and I think that they are a little bit harsh on pot holes and rougher streets.Mine is the S model with the optional M030 suspension so maybe that is part of it. BTW, the most recent poster suggested a Mustang.Had a new 2005 GT with 5 speed and it was one of the best new cars I've ever owned.Fast and bullet proof for 56,000 miles over a 3 year period.Very good quality control and never a squeak or rattle.Ebayed it to a German who paid the overseas shipping.Hope it is wound tight on the Autobahn every day!